maybe the little fucker was good for something after all
by NoGoodInGoodbye
Summary: Out of all the things she had planned on doing that break, she hadn't planned on buying a deaf dog. Modern!AU. Eposette. Femslash. Lots of cursing. No smut.


**Monday: Morning**

She was stupid.

That was an understatement. Still, she couldn't back out now that she was staring the ugly mutt in the face. The beaten and broken retriever looked much too happy for a dog who was adopted on a whim. Of course, he didn't know that, but, whatever. Letting out a huff, she tied her hair in a high ponytail and clipped the leash on.

Out of all the things she had planned on doing that break, she hadn't planned on buying a deaf dog. She knew she'd regret it the minute she signed the papers, but that little voice in her head had insisted it'd be worth it. She completely forgot why she agreed.

With a wave of her hand in front of the dog's line of sight, she stood up and gently tugged on the leash as she led him out of the complex and towards the park down the block.

The walk wasn't as tiring as she thought it'd be. The dog could walk easily on its own, she simply had to tug the leash here and there whenever a businessperson was coming in from behind or jogger was going too fast. She learned that the mangy thing seemed more alert when she'd walk close to it, only straying to piss itself once before returning dutifully to her side.

She still wasn't feeling the benefits of adopting it, though.

"Éponine!" a voice took her attention from the ugly, thin, two-year-old. She turned to see a halo of golden hair bursting through the double doors of the complex she was walking past.

She blinked twice before she managed to gather her wits, "Oh, Cosette."

"Woah, reign in your excitement there, sunshine," Cosette rolled her eyes fondly, squatting in her pastel-colored summer dress and scratching behind the dog's only ear. She smiled softly as the dog panted happily from the attention. She grinned, eyes trained on the beast, "This is the one we saw in the shelter last month, right?"

Oh, right. That's why.

"Yeah, that's the one," Éponine mumbled, nodding when Cosette looked at her before returning her attention to the animal. That was why she adopted the little furball.

"He looks so happy," Cosette cooed, the brightness in her eyes making Éponine melt. Damn the angel's face. "When did you adopt him?"

"A couple weeks ago," Éponine shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant through her beating heart as she let her eyes wander over to the looming buildings.

"What'd you name him?" Cosette asked excitedly, giving the dog a little ruffle before scooping him up in her arms and cuddling him. Damn lucky dog.

"Nothing."

"Nothing? How philosophical."

"No, I haven't given him a name."

"Why?"

"Why not?"

"Everyone needs a name."

"It's a dog."

"It's _your_ dog."

"It's deaf."

"A name gives it an identity. A name marks it as _yours_."

"You name it then."

Cosette froze in her spot on the pavement, looking up at Éponine with obvious doubt. The taller girl simply shrugged. "I don't mind. I adopted him out of pity, mostly, so go ahead. Name the mutt."

Cosette replied with a blinding grin and Éponine swore she could have died right then. The gentle blond pulled away slightly, examining the dog as if naming it was such a momentous occasion. She stared for good long minute before declaring, "Jean."

Éponine snorted. "Prouvaire would be insulted."

Cosette smiled sheepishly, her eyes falling to the pavement as she returned to hugging and petting the animal. "Sorry, my Papa is named Jean."

Éponine's eyes softened at that, a soft sigh escaping her as she knelt to Cosette's level. She offered the girl a small, gentle smile, shaking her head, "It's alright. Although he'll probably get mixed up with the hundred other Jean's in this country."

Cosette laughed softly at that, shaking her head as she pulled away and looked at the beast one more time. Giving it a soft scratch behind its ear, she smiled and whispered, "Devil."

Éponine blinked once. Twice. She looked at the girl, sporting another sheepish smile as she reluctantly looked back at her before returning her gaze to the dog.

A slow, wolfish grin split her lips. "I like it."

Cosette looked at her in surprise, shock evident in the 'o' of her soft, pink lips. It took the blond a good second to process her words, but when she did, her blinding grin matched Éponine's own.

It took a passing jogger for them to return to reality and the shy smiles passed quickly as they returned to their feet.

"So," Cosette brushed a stray hair back into place. "Are you going to Courf's party this Friday?"

"Yeah, probably," Éponine nodded, moving the leash to her other hand. "You?"

"Yeah, definitely. I—I guess I'll see you there."

"Yeah, see you."

The two departed with fleeting smiles and tentative hugs.

 **Tuesday: Evening**

The door slammed closed as a stumbling, curly haired man tumbled into the apartment the following evening.

"Éponine! My favorite resident communications major and apple of my eye," Grantaire grinned, not drunk enough to slur but not sober enough to stand.

"R," Éponine acknowledged from the behind her readings. "Nice of you to return to your apartment every now and then."

"Marius and Bahorel don't come home often enough, too!" the artist argued, shrugging (or, really, dancing) out of his coat.

"Marius has an internship and Bahorel has work," she pointed out with a fond eyeroll.

"Potato-potato."

"You just said the same thing."

"Well, fuck you, too, sweetheart," Grantaire grinned, stepping deeper into the room after toeing off his shoes before noticing the mound of fur on the floor. "What is that?"

"A dog."

"I see. Why is there a dog in our apartment?"

"I adopted it."

"Why did you adopt a dog?"

"I felt like it."

"O-kay," Grantaire drawled before bending on his knees, patting them as he tried to get Devil's attention. "Hey boy! Come here, boy! Meet your new daddy!"

"Ew, don't say it like that," Éponine's nose scrunched in disgust before shaking her head. "And he can't hear you. He's deaf."

"You adopted," Grantaire paused, the alcohol adding to the disbelief on his face. "A _deaf dog_."

"Yes."

"You hate dogs."

"No, I don't."

"Fine then, you dislike animals."

"That is true."

"And yet you adopted a dog."

"I have confirmed that, yes."

"You adopted a _disabled_ dog."

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I told you, I felt like it."

As difficult as Grantaire found that to believe, he shrugged it off, taking one more swig from his flask before pocketing it and falling on to the couch on Éponine. "What's it's name?"

The corners of her mouth twitched at that. "Devil."

"Satanic," Grantaire enthused. "Nice."

Éponine's voice was soft, fond, "Cosette named him."

" _Oh_ ," Grantaire sat up from his flopped position on the couch. " _That's_ why."

"That's why what?" Éponine frowned, glaring at him over her readings.

"Nothing!" Grantaire grinned knowingly, standing and scratching Devil as he stepped over her legs. "I just remembered that Jehan told me to call him when I got home."

Éponine's eyes held nothing but suspicion as they followed Grantaire out the room. She snorted, "You're a right shit liar, R."

"I love you too!" he laughed, opening the door to his room.

Éponine rolled her eyes at his obvious evasiveness and shook her head, shouting after him, "Tell your boyfriend you're an asshole for me."

Grantaire's muffled reply had her grinning. "He already knows that!"

 **Wednesday: Morning**

She walked Devil early the next morning, as she had an afternoon shift in the café that day. As she continued down the block towards the park, she would never admit to loitering outside the Rue de Plumet for so long, but even she couldn't hide the disappointment she felt when blindingly blond hair didn't burst through the doors after thirty minutes of trying to get the mangy mutt to shit the signage.

Grudgingly, she led its ugly ass down the street towards the park right next to it, unclipping its leash as she let the devil run free (all puns intended). She watched the dog try to make other friends in the park, falling on the closest bench with a loud sigh. She heard the pounding of a jogger close by but hadn't realized it stopped right next to her until her bench tilted.

She turned in slight shock to see a sweating Cosette grinning at her as she pulled out her earphones and pocketed it.

"Hey you," Cosette greeted her, shifting to face her properly. It took every ounce of self-control Éponine had to not trail the sweat down any further.

She gulped down the lump in her throat, eyes returning to Devil. "Hey."

"You're walking Devil pretty early today, you busy later?"

"Uh, yeah. I'm covering Chetta's shift at the Musain."

"Is she okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. Bossuet was admitted in the hospital two days ago and he's only being let out today. Chetta's fetching him and giving him the TLC he needs."

"Oh, okay, that's good—I mean, not for Boss, but, you know."

"Yeah."

They lapsed into comfortable silence, Éponine's eyes wandering from the dog to Cosette to the sky as she held back the victory pump she was prone to doing. She couldn't hide her smile, though, as they continued to watch the beast run around and eventually, Cosette was curious enough to ask, amusedly, "What?"

Éponine turned to her, brow raised and lip quirking, "What what?"

"You're smiling."

"Didn't know that was banned."

"It's not, but, come on, let me in on the joke."

"There's no joke, Cosette."

"Then what's with that smile?"

"It's nothing."

"I don't believe you for a second."

"Not many people do."

"Éponine."

"Cosette."

"Come _on_."

"It's nothing!"

"…"

"Damn your puppy eyes."

"So?"

"I was just—you know, it's not that funny, now that I think about it."

" _Éponine_."

"It's not! Swear! I really am not as funny as my sleep-deprived brain seems to think."

"I think you're funny."

"Your brain is also sleep-deprived."

"Fine, dodge the question."

"That's what I was doing."

Cosette deflated exaggeratedly in defeat, slumping and leaning on Éponine as she sighed. Éponine wondered if she could hear her hammering heart. Her skin was slick with sweat and her hair damp after her jog, and yet Éponine couldn't bring herself to pull away from the smell of car exhaust, sweat, and a hint of cinnamon.

"You're sweaty," she blurted out, regretting the words immediately as Cosette pulled away.

The blond smiled apologetically, "Sorry, I didn't—"

"Ah, no, it's okay," the olive-skinned girl rushed to stop any misconception. "I—" _I like it when you're wet. It turns me on. I think you're the hottest girl alive._ "I don't mind."

Cosette gave a sheepish smile, standing just as Devil returned. "I should actually get going. I'm meeting Papa later today."

"Oh, okay," Éponine unconsciously scratched behind Devil's ear, petting the dog and making Cosette smile at the interaction. "Uh, have fun."

"You too, take care covering Chetta's shift," Cosette waved turning to cross the street back to her apartment.

 **Thursday: Morning**

The morning before the party, she forgot to set her alarm and was woken up by a soft scratching on her door. She opened it, letting Devil scamper in and circle her legs. She grumbled all the way through her shower and out the complex. Stupid morning sun and stupid dog duties.

The little mutt was getting used to their daily walks, his wary steps turning playful and confident each passing day. She wasn't counting on seeing her favorite blond again today, though, which only soured her mood further. She knew her luck wasn't all that great, and so resigned herself to muttering insults the beast would never hear.

It surprised her, then, to see Cosette standing in front of her apartment in jogging pants and a crème colored jumper. It was so out of character for the blond that it was cute. Damn it, Éponine frowned, this girl was just too perfect.

Cosette was on her phone when Éponine neared, but the sound of Devil's incomprehensible noise (they weren't barks, or yelps, or whatever sounds dogs made. It was just, a sound leaving the animal's mouth) caught her attention.

"Éponine!" Cosette grinned, pocketing her phone as she went in for a hug. Oh, they were doing this now.

"Hey," was Éponine's smart reply.

"I was just about to text you," the pretty blond admitted sheepishly. How the girl could go from enthusiastic to sheepish in less than five seconds was astounding, Éponine thought. "I wanted to ask if I could walk with you and Devil."

"Sure, he'd like the company." _We'd_ like the company, she mentally corrected herself, gently tugging the dog's leash as she started towards the park. Cosette fell in step with her, her smile soft as she started talking about what she had done with her father the night before.

Éponine hummed and nodded at all the right moments, letting Devil go after they'd settled on to a bench. She listened intently but mostly stared with intensity.

Cosette shined when she was happy. No, she _glowed_. Her eyes brightened with every passing second she spoke, her eyes crinkled in the corners with every little joke she'd add, her lips tilted and teeth gleamed with every story she moved on to, her voice rose and lilted as if she were singing a song just for her, her face flushed with joy and embarrassment as she recounted funny moments, and her nose wrinkled with every laugh that escaped her lips.

Éponine was painfully captivated.

"So?" the brunette managed to catch when she noticed the bright blue eyes staring back. "What do you think?"

"I—uh," Éponine tried to remember the story the petite girl had been saying, backtracking a few sentences before remembering. "I think it's great that you and Marius are talking again."

"Right?" Cosette shot her a blinding smile. "I'm just glad we didn't stay in the awkward phase for so long. It was actually nice talking to him."

"At least you didn't have to live through his sulking stage," Éponine's nose wrinkled at the memory. "He was such a stupid git about it for weeks."

Cosette's brows furrowed at the thought. "You know, I think Grantaire sent me some pictures then. Said that we needed to talk it out asap."

"Sounds like R," Éponine nodded, watching Devil bound his way towards them. When the mangy mutt settled in front of the girls, Cosette reached over and started ruffling his fur.

"You know, I'm really glad you adopted him," the blond admitted, her smile soft as she let Devil snuggle closer.

Éponine's brows furrowed. "Um, me too?"

"I mean," Cosette tried to find the words. "When we went to the shelter back then, I saw him and I just, he reminded me of you."

"Ugly and high maintenance?"

"No!" Cosette seemed genuinely offended that she had insulted herself. "You're beautiful, 'Ponine and you're probably the only girl I know who can shower in five minutes flat and still look gorgeous in the clothes you wore the day before. No, he's—Devil reminded me of you because, well, he's a fighter."

The pair's eyes fell to the dog, his tail wagging happily behind him. "He's a fighter but when we got to the shelter, he stood out to me. He's playful and a bit mischievous, he's resourceful—you remember how he got himself out of his cage just to meet us? He's just this big fluff of sunshine."

"Are you calling me a big fluff of sunshine?"

Cosette played with her bottom lip, teeth nibbling on it before she hesitantly looked up behind her lashes. "Maybe?"

"It's a good thing I like you, Fauchelevent."

 **Friday: Morning**

The following morning, Éponine contemplated skipping out on her new routine to hide under her covers, but Devil was scratching her door and damnit the paint was already worn down and this apartment had enough nicks and cuts as it is so she rolled out of bed, stole Grantaire's jumper and walked Devil out the complex.

She decided to take the longer route, cutting through the business district before rounding out on the other side of the park. She wasn't avoiding anyone, she reasoned with herself. She just felt like Devil needed more exercise. Of course, her lungs debated otherwise when she spotted no speck of gold across the street or in the park and let out a breath of relief—no, it wasn't relief. She was just breathing.

With a quick flick of her wrist, she'd gotten Devil off his leash and watched the happy beast bound away towards the other dogs. She took a spot on a bench facing the apartment for—well, no reason at all. She just liked the view.

Settling into her seat, she leaned back and closed her eyes, rubbing the bridge of her nose as she sighed. Now that she's not looking over her shoulder every five minutes, she had to admit that she was hiding. After her little slip up yesterday, she'd shot the blond a nervous grin and clipped Devil's leash back on, giving the girl some nonsensical excuse as she started to drag the dog back to the apartment. _It's a good thing I like you_. Fuck. If the softness of how she'd said it didn't give her away, then her reaction afterwards certainly did!

Éponine held back a groan as she heard bounding paws and ragged breathing. She rested her elbows on her knees and reluctantly opened her eyes to find Devil excitedly pacing in front of her. Her eyes narrowed as the animal nearly jumped in its spot before turning to face the other side of the park. She followed the dog's line of sight to find a familiar pair of slim white legs speeding towards them.

"Shit."

Éponine had Devil back on his leash and reluctantly following her seconds later as she sped down the opposite street and disappeared into the business district.

 **Friday: Evening**

The party was in full swing when Éponine arrived later that evening. She'd left Devil with Marius back in their apartment—the law student passing up on the festivities to prepare for a big case he was helping with at work. She'd given the dog one little ruffle on the head before slipping out of the apartment and catching a bus to Courfeyrac's.

The living room had been turned into a dance floor, the couch and coffee table flushed to the wall, leaving the ugly ass neon orange carpet to glow in the center of the room. The lights were dimmed and someone had brought the strobe lights Feuilly had made last year. Bahorel was taking care of the drinks at the kitchen island, Jehan and Grantaire were dancing the tango to Niska's Réseaux in the middle of the dance floor, Musichetta and her boys were tangled on the couch—Bossuet trying to convince the two to dance, Courfeyrac was having muscle spasms while Feuilly danced next to him, Enjolras and Combeferre were nowhere to be found, and Cosette—well shit.

Éponine ducked into the kitchen, eyes wide as she told Bahorel, "Hit me, something strong, _stat_."

Bahorel was quick to slide her three cups (he wasn't stupid enough to think Éponine would only need one), which she gratefully chugged down in less than a minute each.

By the time she'd downed her fifth cup, her heart was hammering and she knew she wasn't smashed enough to face the girl standing right behind her.

"Éponine, can we talk?" Cosette asked, voice soft as her eyes shifted from Bahorel to the brunette.

"Um, sure," Éponine's smile flickered before she leaned back on the counter, resting her elbows on the ledge as she nodded at the girl. "What's up?"

"I meant alone," Cosette pressed, her finger flying to the girl's elbow as she gently guided her out the kitchen and towards the balcony.

Cosette's touch was light and feathery, almost as if she weren't holding her at all. And yet, Éponine felt her skin burning at the gentleness of it all, her pulse echoing loudly just below her throat. Once Cosette had closed the door behind her, she turned to the girl with a fire in her eyes that made Éponine's knees weak.

Cosette cut straight to the point. "Why did you run from me?"

"What?" was Éponine's smart reply.

"Earlier today. You saw me, then you ran."

"I-I didn't know it was you."

"Bullshit. Are you angry at me?"

"Wh-What?! Of course not!"

"Then _why_?"

"It's not—You aren't—Sorry."

"That's not an explanation."

"Shit, Cosette, can we just…?"

"No, tell me, Éponine. Explain it to me."

"Cosette, I." Her hands were shaking and her heart was racing and if things went wrong, she knew she wouldn't be able to stop herself from crying. "Fuck. I, Cosette, I understand if you never want to talk to me again after this and I'm _sorry_ I'm saying this right now considering you and Marius only broke up less than two months ago but, damnit, you're kind and you're sweet and you care about people who really don't deserve it and you don't judge me when I visit your place drunk pissed and rambling and your eyes are the nicest fucking shade of blue and you're a literal fucking angel and damn fuck I like you." A beat, shaking hands steeling into fists. "I _love_ you, okay? I'm sorry and I understand if you don't want to talk to me anymore or even see me an—"

Cosette's lips were soft and sure and the hand she'd slipped behind Éponine's neck was strong and steady. She tasted like Combeferre's Italian red sauce spaghetti and coke and rum with just a hint of the strawberry lipstick she always insists Éponine try. She pulls away slowly but lets her teeth graze Éponine's bottom lip, her breath cold and cutting in the evening air.

Éponine's eyes flutter open, her breath catching in her throat as she stares back at two, expecting, blue eyes. "Wha-?"

Cosette's lips found hers again, the first gentle touches turning hungry and bruising. Éponine's eyes fluttered closed as her hands found her waist and pulled her in. A little slip of the tongue and a small whimper found her pinned against the railing. She could feel her hair gripped in the blonde's slender hand and the warmth of her fingers behind her neck keeping her close. It took a few good minutes before the kisses turned gentle, fond.

Cosette was the first to speak. "I've wanted to do that for a while now."

"Really?"

"Seriously. And," she tiptoed to kiss the corner of her mouth. "I love _you_."


End file.
